# Getting paid to surf the Net - really? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 25, 1999, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311 "1999-10-25T18:44:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ravenous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@ravenous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravenous)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/1 "1999-10-25T18:44:00Z")
I got this obvious spam ostensibly from a friend who signed up to get paid to surf the Net. > [@](#): > > 1.The average check paid to EACH member who surfed in August alone was $47.77! > > 2.Some [AllAdvantage.com](http://AllAdvantage.com) members are well on their way to earning $1,000 EACH in September! I won’t post the link because I don’t want to look like I’m plugging these people, but it shouldn’t be hard to figure out. There are a few other people doing the same thing as well. My questions: what’s the catch? Anyone tried this? Anyone have a hack where I can get $1000 a month while my computer simulates me surfing the Net? Is that a crime or just a contract breach? 😉 Rav ---
**Author:** ![obx\_jules](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e19adc/32.png) [@obx\_jules](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obx_jules)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/2 "1999-10-25T19:35:00Z")
I have actually seen a check from this place. It’s a pyramid scheme, you get paid for surfing up to 20 hours, I think, but you get a percentage of all your referals. The more people you sign up, the more you get. A friend at work signed up and has received a check for $25. I refuse to participate, but it’s paying for his internet acess… so far. ---
**Author:** ![ravenous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@ravenous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravenous)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/3 "1999-10-25T20:36:00Z")
Ah, thanks. Are the different companies mutually exclusive? Or can I get paid by all of them for the same “work”? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/4 "1999-10-25T23:58:00Z")
No, you can’t just leave your computer online. If it doesn’t detect any activity for three minutes it shuts down. Haven’t seen a check from them yet. However, you can earn some cash online. I have gotten checks from Cyberdialog, and I’ve earned several ten dollar gift certificates from other survey sites. I must fit their demographics well because I get at least two offers a month. I also do the MyPoints thing, but it takes forever to earn enough points to redeem. ---
**Author:** ![Nickrz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbce88/32.png) [@Nickrz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nickrz)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 1999, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/5 "1999-10-25T23:59:00Z")
## Please do not post the link to the site under discussion. Such links to purely commercial websites will be considered SPAM and will be shot on sight without warning or notice. Nickrz GQ Mod for The Straight Dope ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/6 "1999-10-26T00:01:00Z")
Oh! Almost forgot: yes, you could get paid by two companies at the same time. However, you have to download each company’s viewbar, and some of them are pretty big. I use AllAdvantage myself, and it’s about an inch tall, and it extends along the bottom of your screen. You have to reduce the size of the internet viewing window to make it fit. ---
**Author:** ![ravenous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@ravenous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravenous)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/7 "1999-10-26T04:10:00Z")
Make Money Fast? Maybe it was just a little too close for comfort… ---
**Author:** ![Undead\_Dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e19adc/32.png) [@Undead\_Dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Undead_Dude)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/8 "1999-10-26T04:23:00Z")
> [@](#): > > I listed a link to a site that allows a person to make money and Nicrz deleted it. – C3 And that person would be you, since you probably had your refid on the URL, right? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/9 "1999-10-26T12:11:00Z")
Posted for the third time: AND REMOVED BY TUBADIVA. **Spam, obvious and blatant commercial solicitation, pyramid schemes and Ponzi games, and multi-level marketing plans are not permitted on this site.** * * * Contestant #3 [Note: This message has been edited by TubaDiva] ---
**Author:** ![Whammo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8dc957/32.png) [@Whammo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whammo)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/10 "1999-10-26T14:16:00Z")
oh much better link there nickrz… nothing I like better then porn links with unending unescapable pop up windows… * * * “Boy, wouldja get a load of the cloaca on that one”? -Cecil Adams, october 8 1999 ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/11 "1999-10-26T14:48:00Z")
Nickrz did not make the link to the porn site . . . CONTESTANT #3 DID. BTW, this is another thing we do not like to see on this site. I have removed it. your humble TubaDiva/SDStaffDiv for the Straight Dope ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 1999, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/12 "1999-10-26T15:36:00Z")
[Contestant #3 has been banned from the SDMB](http://www.straightdope.com/ubb/Forum2/HTML/000280.html) your humble TubaDiva/SDSDStaffDiv for the Straight Dope ---
**Author:** ![ravenous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@ravenous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravenous)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/13 "1999-10-27T03:23:00Z")
Guess that puts an end to this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Martyr\_7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Martyr\_7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martyr_7)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/14 "1999-10-27T03:46:00Z")
Not really ravenous. Consider that if each member of the SDMB were to surf the SDMB while having a advertising viewbar displayed, and each member surfed the SDMB for 25 hours per month (at .50 per hour for a max of 25 hours), in one month’s time the 3,049 current members could collectively earn $38,112.50 or $457,350 annually. Just think how much of this disposable income might then be spent on such SDMB sponsors such as Quokka… * * * Martyr #7 ---
**Author:** ![ravenous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4491bb/32.png) [@ravenous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ravenous)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 7:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/15 "1999-10-27T07:54:00Z")
Colectively, sure, but per person is it really worth it? How much have you made so far? I was kind of annoyed to get the mail from my friend. It was obviously not written by her. Multiply the annoyance by…but wait! Those people aren’t me! 😉 Still I guess it’d be worth it for some people. I wonder if they’re gonna run out of venture funding one day. Is it really worth so much to the advertisers? Maybe one day we’ll get paid for watching TV. That’ll be the day. Convergence. Watch for it. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 1999, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/16 "1999-10-27T20:01:00Z")
Hey, hound dogs. C#3’s link to all-advantage, with his ID number, has been up and intact in MPSIMS since October 10th. You can check–it’s still there, or was as of a half-hour ago. Why let him post it in there with no response and then jump all over him here? ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 1999, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/17 "1999-10-28T15:07:00Z")
I got a check last month for $47, and my balance for October so far is $105. After 25 hours I turn it off (usually within the first 2 or 3 days of the month) and I’m done til the next month. All in all not a bad deal, but it has generated a huge pile of spam out there… I’ve reported many myself (the address is [abuse@alladvantage.com](mailto:abuse@alladvantage.com) and you can report not only email spam but offtopic usenet and message board posts as well)… I belong to the Web Design Club on Yahoo, and we get 5 or 10 spams per week for this stuff… it’s enough to make you grab a shotgun and head for McDonalds ☹ * * * **\>^,^\<** “Cluemobile? You’ve got a pickup…” OpalCat’s site: [http://opalcat.com](http://opalcat.com) The Teeming Millions Homepage: [fathom.org/teemingmillions](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions) ---
**Author:** ![carjoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@carjoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carjoy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 1999, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/getting-paid-to-surf-the-net-really/4311/18 "1999-10-29T15:42:00Z")
I just downloaded the viewbar from alladvantage and it does take up a lot of space. You can minimize it, but you don’t get paid. You do have to resize your page, but it gives you something to look at while the pages are loading.(I’m on a modem) After a while you just don’t look at the ads. But it looks like it will pay for my ISP, which is kinda kool! Tryin’ to get referals to so I can get more $. * * * why be possible when with a little effort you can be impossible